Two methods of computing the time-mean divergence and vorticity from satellite vector winds in rain-free (RF) and all-weather (AW) conditions are investigated. Consequences of removing rain-contaminated winds on the mean divergence and vorticity depend strongly on the order in which the time-average and spatial derivative operations are applied. Taking derivatives...
High-resolution mesoscale model sea surface temperature (SST) analyses and surface wind stress forecasts off the U.S. West Coast are analyzed on monthly time scales for robust signatures of air–sea interaction as the surface winds encounter ocean surface features such as SST fronts, filaments, and eddies. This interaction is manifest by...
A mesoscale atmospheric model is used to address the characteristics of stratified flow bounded by a side
wall along a varying coastline. Initial Froude number values are varied through alteration of marine inversion
strength, permitting examination of supercritical, subcritical, and transcritical flow regimes encountering several
coastal configurations. Consistent with shallow...
Satellite observations of wind stress and sea surface temperature (SST) are analyzed to investigate ocean–atmosphere interaction in the California Current System (CCS). As in regions of strong SST fronts elsewhere in the World Ocean, SST in the CCS region is positively correlated with surface wind stress when SST fronts are...
In north and central California, equatorward winds drive equatorward flows
and the upwelling of cold dense water over the shelf during the midspring and summer
upwelling season. When the winds temporarily weaken, the upwelling flows between
Point Reyes and Point Arena ‘‘relax,’’ becoming strongly poleward over the shelf.
Analytical and...